A Glimmer
by Alpal.C
Summary: 'After a few seconds he tasted Glimmer's sad, salty tears on his lips and knew that the one thing he wanted to give her, he couldn't. Protection.' When Cato enters the Hunger Games the last thing he expects is to fall in love with the broken girl who knows she's going to die, but now that he has, how can he let her go?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Inspired by the movie, I really like the idea of Cato and Glimmer so I hope you enjoy reading my fanfic about them and would love to hear your thoughts through comments or Pm. Thanks!**

A Glimmer

He just didn't understand her. And that was saying something. Out of all the girls he'd ever known she was the only one who didn't fancy him, or if she did she had a strange way of showing it. It was like she was split into two different people. The flirty confident girl, the girl the public saw, but the shy and conservative girl when you got to know her.

Glimmer looked up from the fire-building station and caught Cato staring at her from across the room. She smiled slightly before blushing and pretending to go back to concentrating on making fire with two dry twigs.

Cato however couldn't bring himself to look away as he continued to wonder what he'd done wrong. He'd spoken to her several times over the last two days in training, and yet she still wasn't showing any signs of wanting to spend time with him.

Marvel on the other hand seemed to have her full attention, he recollected as he watched him go and join Glimmer. She even started to laugh when he accidentally knocked a packet full of matches onto the floor.

"Right it's time to break for lunch, into the dining hall everyone!" the head trainer shouted as two avox's opened the doors and the tributes began to drop what they were doing and head for the exit. Cato spotted Clove meeting up with Marvel and Glimmer and jogged over to them. He caught up with them just as they were sitting down. Looking around the room he couldn't help but feel confident that he had a good chance of doing what he came to the Capital to do. Win the Hunger Games. Most of the other tributes sat by themselves or with the other tribute from there district. Several of them seemed to have given up hope already and would be easy prey when the time came.

"So Cato you spotted any one else you think would be a good alley in the arena?" Marvel asked cockily.

"Nope, there all a bunch of idiots," Cato said loud enough for everyone to hear as he got to his feet and stomped over to the buffet table. After seeing Marvel with Glimmer he had become irritated and wasn't in the mood to sit and listen to him talk about the numerous girls he'd left behind in District one. For some reason Cato wasn't in the mood for being the centre of attention and wanted some alone time to think about the arena. Thankfully everyone moved out of the way as he went to the end of the table and grabbed a plate. At least being feared meant you get the first buffet selection he smirked.

"It's okay to be afraid you know." Suddenly he heard a whisper and felt someone next to him. He looked down and saw Glimmer holding a plate and pilling rice onto it, not willing to make eye contact with him.

"Who says I'm afraid?" Cato said swaggering a little and playing cool the way he always did when he was trying to impress someone. The girls usually loved it but Glimmer barley looked up.

"How can you not be? We're going to die," she whispered, looking up for the first time and making eye contact with him, the fear clearly showing in her eyes.

"Well actually I'm not planning on dieing and you shouldn't be either. I'm planning on winning," Cato said winking his famous wink and flashing her a smile. Instead of melting and batting her eyelids like most girls she just stared at him as if he was mad.

She shook her head slowly. "Maybe, but to be honest I haven't got much of a chance," Glimmer stopped without further explanation.

Cato wanted to know more and was just about to ask when the rest of the tributes came near having waited long enough for him to get some food. Seeing the expressions on Cato and Glimmers face made them hesitate, but eventually hunger won out and they started getting there food. Cato knew that he was starting to look weak in front of the other tributes for not saying anything when they pushed passed him to get food. He was just about to grab one of them and start shouting when he felt an arm slid around his back.

Looking down he saw Glimmer had wrapped her arms around him with a playful look on her face and any trace of fear gone. "So baby, let's sit down and decide who were going kill first," she giggled and then glared at the other tributes to make sure they heard what she had said.

See this is exactly what Cato meant, one minute she was scared and the next she acted as if she owned the world. The confusion must have registered on Cato's face as when he next looked down at her she mouthed 'play along.' Cato still wasn't sure what was going on but decided it wouldn't do any harm to be seen with Glimmer and it would annoy Marvel.

"Now that," Cato said scooping Glimmer into his arms "is a great idea," he purred as he walked back to there table balancing both his plate and Glimmer in his arms. He couldn't help but smile seeing the annoyed look on Marvels face as he sat down with Glimmer sat on his knee. Looking around he also couldn't help but feel a sense of achievement at how unnerved the rest of the tributes looked at this development.

"Erm so are you two actually planning on helping Marvel and I plan strategies?" Clove asked raising her eyebrows at Cato.

Cato just shrugged and settled into his seat, for once being too busy to talk about the arena. Too busy thinking about the girl sat on his knee.

…

"Right fifteen minutes left, so make the most of them!" the head trainer shouted. No one seemed too interested but the announcement took Cato by surprise. If he was going to talk to Glimmer like he had been planning all afternoon, then now was the time, especially since Marvel was too busy showing off to flirt with her.

Stop it he thought. Why was he acting like this? So…so…in love. He had only known her for a couple of days and in the next week she'd be dead, so what did it matter? But it did matter. To him at least, even if he didn't understand why.

"Marvel hasn't told you then has he?" a voice from behind him said. Turning around Cato found himself face to face with Glimmer. She had done it again. Caught him off guard just as he was preparing to go and speak to her. Cato felt his breath catch in his throat but managed to keep cool as he said "Tell me what?"

"Why I'm here," she replied staring up at him, her blue eyes so intent Cato almost felt he could drown just looking into them.

"Well obviously you volunteered to win like I did," Cato said unable to keep the confusion from crossing his face.

"I didn't volunteer; I was reaped as punishment to my father, the Mayor of District one."

"What? He's the Mayor? The president never said anything, and neither has anyone else," Cato said unable to hold her gaze any longer.

"Well they wouldn't would they? Especially when there trying to punish my father. He said some things that the capital that they didn't like, spoke of being able to start an uprising if the Capital kept cutting workers wages. They said he'd regret what he had implied, going against the Capital, but after a couple of months nothing had happened and I thought things were going to be alright. Well that's what I thought, until after the reaping."

Cato suddenly experienced something that had never happened to him before. He was speechless. How could he respond to that? Luckily he didn't have to.

"Okay everyone, training's over, good look with your interviews tomorrow and well done with your private sessions earlier this afternoon," the head trainer shouted as the tributes began to file out. Glimmer turned to walk away but Cato grabbed her arm.

"You can still win you know," he said trying desperately to think of someway to comfort her. She simply smiled, the saddest and most broken smile he had ever seen.

"There's no way I can win. President Snow has told my father that if I win, or don't put on a good enough show as a volunteer to the other districts, and the daughter of the Mayor to my district, he will see my father and everyone I know publicly hanged as a warning. With the Capital against me, I'll be lucky to last a week anyway," she said. And with that she looked around the room to check the other tributes were almost gone, went up onto her tip toes and kissed Cato on the lips. To say he was unprepared was an understatement. Sure, he had kissed plenty of girls throughout his life, however nothing had ever felt like this. He tried to think what was making him feel so strange, when he realised it was pain. Pain that the only person who had brought light into his now seemingly pointless life, was going to die. Pain that no matter if he won, he would never feel this way again. After a few seconds he tasted Glimmer's sad, salty tears on his lips and knew that the one thing he wanted to give her, he couldn't. Protection.

"Right break it up you two, plenty of time for it in the arena!" a voice shouted from across the room. Knowing they had to stop, Cato squeezed Glimmer's hand as they both pulled away. He then watched as the sad smile returned to her lips and she wiped the tears from her face.

"Guess I don't know how many more times I'm going to get to do that," she whispered before forcing a grin to cross her face and turning to head for the exit.

"See you tomorrow hot stuff!" she shouted, then just like that she strutted out of the training centre, for all the trainers and peacekeepers to see.

Cato however felt as if he was rooted to the spot as he began to understand what Glimmer had meant. No matter what he did she was going to have to die and he was going to have to let her. But the problem was he didn't know how to let her die. The girl who had shown him that he could've been good. The girl who had given him as spark of hope. A twinkle. A glimmer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Thank you for all the reviews so far, they were very encouraging! I am planning on carrying on to write a third chapter after this. Also just a note about this one, in both the film and books Glimmer wears a different dress at the interviews, so I thought I'de make up my own dress too. Let me know what you think!**

One more night. That was all that was left before he was entering the arena. The roar of the crowd confirmed it as Cato watched Caesar walking onto the stage and greeting the Capital audience. This was it. The moment he had dreamed about his whole life.

Going out and showing off to the Capital as there soon to be victor. So why was it that all he could think about was her? The girl from district one who was condemned to death because of her father and even worse, had accepted it.

Cato felt tears well up in his eyes and harshly wiped them away before the other tributes could see, but luckily for once no one seemed interested in him. All the tributes had been assembled in a large room where they were to wait until they were called onto the stage. Everyone except Glimmer. As the girl from district one she was to go first.

Only seconds after thinking this a large screen lit up showing the stage and Caesar announced to the audience, "Ladies and Gentlemen may I introduce the brave and might I say glamorous tribute from district one, Glimmer!"

Cato felt his breath catch in his throat as she walked onto the stage. She was wearing a floor length white dress that curved around her body and floated out at the bottom. To the Capital the low cut top and bare arms made her look exactly as she had been acting, beautiful but dangerous. Cato however could only form one thought. She looked like an angel. He was fighting to keep the tears back now, as he imagined her family and friends back home, watching and knowing there was nothing they could do to save her. Feeling exactly as he did.

"Clove and Cato, if you'd like to step this way your interviews are up next," one of the peacekeepers said coming up to Cato and firmly steering him towards the stage. He got to the wings just as Marvel was finishing his interview.

…

Most of the interviews went by in a blur after his, well apart from the ones from district twelve. Star-crossed lovers! They have no idea Cato thought to himself as he went over to join Marvel, Clove and Glimmer. All the tributes were back in the pre-interview room.

"You have half an hour to discuss last minute plans before you must be back on your own floor," a strict peacekeeper shouted. Looking around Cato noticed that most of the tributes were already heading off, probably having no plans or allies at all.

"So what do you think Cato?" Marvel asked.

"What?" Cato replied realising he hadn't been listening for the last five minutes.

"About the star-crossed lovers, if you want my opinion it's just a cheap shot at getting sponsors," Marvel continued.

"I don't care what they do, there still going to end up dead," Cato said, having already lost patience with Marvel.

"Right well I'm off to bed, don't want to kill you all too easily tomorrow," Clove suddenly said.

"I'll join you, you guys coming?" Marvel asked as he began walking to the lift.

"No, we'll stay down here for a while," Glimmer suddenly said, speaking for the first time. A flicker of confusion crossed Marvel's face.

"Fine, well suit yourself," he shrugged moodily before walking off with Clove. Cato couldn't help but smirk at how annoyed Marvel was. Suddenly he felt a hand grasp his and looked down to face Glimmer. The pretend Glimmer was gone, at least for now and in her place was the broken girl he had come to know and yes, love. Her blue eyes were wide with fear and after a minute Cato realised how badly she was shaking. He had never felt so helpless. After a few minutes of silence she finally spoke.

"I want you to promise me something," she said, her eyes frantically searching for Cato's response.

"Anything," Cato said, moving his hand to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen in her face.

"I want you to promise that when the time comes you won't save me. No matter what I say or do I want you to leave me and win, for both of us," she said evenly, trying hard not to show emotion, however even she couldn't help her voice breaking towards

the end.

"No I can't! I won't be able to. There has to be something we can do, I can't let you die. We have to-" Glimmer placed her finger to Cato's lips, silencing his frantic words. For a moment they both stayed silent as Cato realised she was right. There was nothing he could do.

Not knowing what else to do he opened his arms and Glimmer fell into them. Gradually her violent shaking stopped and the room became quieter as more tributes left, until eventually only the two of them and the peacekeepers remained. They stayed locked in each others arms as the minutes ticked by, neither of them ever wanting to let go.

"Right half an hour's up, time to go back to your own floor," the strict peacekeeper suddenly shouted.

This is it Cato thought. Time to let go. But he couldn't. At least not yet, all he knew was he had to keep her. Finally when Glimmer lifted her head, tears filled her eyes, tears that refused to fall. She had to be strong for Cato.

"Get the lift with me?" she said loud enough for everyone to hear. As if having planned it Cato once again found himself scooping Glimmer into his arms and walking over to the lift. This time however it was different. This time it wasn't for show.

When they reached the first floor, which seemed to take no time at all Cato still couldn't seem to let go. And neither could Glimmer. They once again found themselves grasping onto each other, neither willing to let go.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion from then on. The sound of the peacekeepers telling them to let go, were drowned out by the beat of there hearts, and nothing else seemed to exist.

Suddenly however they were brought back to reality by the brutal feel of the peacekeepers pulling them apart. They struggled for what seemed like an eternity however in the end they simply weren't strong enough. Four peacekeepers tugged at Cato and Glimmer until eventually they were pulled apart.

The only thing that remained was there hands, holding each other so tightly it was as if there lives depended on it.

"Please don't leave me!" Glimmer suddenly shouted as the peacekeepers yanked there hands apart.

"I'll never leave, I promise, I love you," Cato shouted as he was bundled back into the lift. There was nothing either of them could do now. Nothing except watch as the lift doors closed and Cato was sent up to his own floor. The peacekeepers let go of Glimmer and left her curled on the floor. She let the tears fall now as the shaking returned. Her body began to rock frantically back and forth and all that filled the silence was the sound of her deep ugly sobs.

In the end she gave up trying to be strong and gave in. Her fingernails dug into the carpet as she whispered the same line over and over again.

"Please don't leave me."

…**..**

"Just remember, whatever you do don't show mercy. To anyone," Cato and Clove's mentor said as the lift began to go down to the plane that would take them to the arena.

"So, you nervous?" Clove asked looking up at Cato.

"Me nervous, please," Cato smirked and hoped that it wasn't obvious he was lying. The truth was he was petrified, and not of dying. He was petrified of losing her. Pain shot through him as he remembered the look in her eyes last night, as he was dragged away from her. It was the same look that had kept him awake all night.

Finally the lift reached the bottom floor and both he and Clove were escorted towards the plane. Looking up he felt his heart skip a beat as he saw Glimmer and Marvel were in front of them, walking towards the plane.

Although they were meters apart to begin with, by the time they had reached the plane, they were within touching distance. The large door opened and they were instructed to walk up the stairs and into the cabin. To Cato's surprise the peacekeepers let go of them and allowed them to walk on there own. He supposed they didn't think there was much any of them would or could do now. But they were wrong.

Just as they neared the top of the stairs Cato felt a familiar hand wrap around his, but before he had time to respond it gave a quick squeeze and let go. Confused, Cato looked up and met Glimmer's gaze, but only for a moment as after a second she looked away.

Too many thoughts were racing around Cato's head for him to understand what was going on. A few minutes later however he understood. It happened when the rest of the tributes were on board the plane and he was facing Glimmer, who was sat on the opposite side of the plane. She winked at him, before throwing her head back and giggling playfully.

It was then he finally realised. The old Glimmer, the one he knew was gone now and would never come back. From now on the pretend Capital Glimmer would dominate the screens throughout Panem. But there was a problem with that. He had made a promise to the old Glimmer that he didn't know how to keep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: ****First of all I'd just like to say how sorry I am for not updating until now. I don't really have an excuse, I just never seemed to have time to get around to writing this chapter. Also I hope no one will mind, but I have decided not to write about Peeta joining in with the careers, simply because there is no real need for him in the plot- not because I have anything against him! Finally thanks alot for all the reviews and sticking with the story, please keep letting me know what you think!**

Glimmer felt her nails dig into her palms as she was lifted into the light of the arena. This is it she thought, the place I'm going to die. Looking around she glanced over the worried faces of all the other tributes, but stopped when she met Cato's gaze. Just looking at him made her shaking stop and the count down go silent. It was as if nothing else existed. After around thirty seconds however, she forced herself to re-enter the arena and form some sort of plan, although when she tried it was as if her brain had stopped working. Words floated around in her head but she couldn't form any meaning from them.

Eventually her eyes locked onto the mouth of the cornucopia, where right at the back there was a variety of weapons to choose from. Suddenly the horn went off and automatically she stumbled off her platform and onto the grass. After a second of hesitation her legs began to move and she found herself running towards the mouth of the cornucopia. All around her already she could hear people screaming and pleading, however she refused to look.

She was just about to reach the cornucopia when someone pushed her hard on the back. Almost immediately she fell to the ground. Before she could regain any sense of direction she felt someone dive on top her. Looking up she saw the female tribute from district seven, was now raising a weapon above her head. It looked like a long stick to begin with however after a second Glimmer saw that there were several sharp blades sticking out of it.

I can't die yet, was the only thought going through her head as she thrashed frantically to try and get free. Nothing seemed to distract the girl, however just as she brought her arm down Glimmer felt her weight shift to the right. Quickly she flung herself to the left, but not quick enough to avoid one of the blades sinking into her arm and another into the side of her stomach. She felt herself let out a cry but knew she couldn't give up. Not yet anyway.

Suddenly she saw Marvel run past. "Marvel!" she screamed, but to her surprise instead of coming to help her he simply looked at her blankly for a moment, before fear crossed his face and he began to run in the opposite direction away from her.

"Arghhhhhh!" Glimmer suddenly screamed as she felt the blades being ripped out of her. After a few seconds her vision went blurry and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. All she could focus on was the sight of the blades coming towards her once more as the girl from district seven prepared to take another swing-but this time Glimmer knew she wouldn't miss.

Taking a deep breath Glimmer made a silent plead for help, as voices began to fade out all around her. All she could do now was wait until it happened. She prayed it would be quick. Suddenly however she heard a familiar shout and felt the weight of the girl from district seven being pushed off her.

"Get off my Glimmer, bitch!" She heard Cato's voice cut through the noise and couldn't help but laugh as the wonderful warm feeling she got whenever he was near, surged through her. Opening her eyes sure enough there he was standing over the now dead body of her attacker. Only she wasn't looking at the dead girl.

Here in the middle of the bloodbath, with people being killed all around her all she could do was lay on the ground grinning at Cato, who was doing exactly the same. It was a strange thrill for both of them, knowing that you could be killed at any second, but not caring.

"I totally had her," Glimmer said, as Cato offered out his hand to pull her up.

"I know you did, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress," he replied, as Glimmer took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Suddenly however she let out a shriek and clutched her stomach as she remembered the wound where the girl had sunk the blade into her. A dizziness washed over her as she stumbled and felt her legs buckle beneath her. She would have surly fallen if it wasn't for Cato's strong arm holding her up. All of a sudden Glimmer saw the tribute from district eight run towards Cato, sword raised.

"Cato!" Glimmer's shriek cut through the air as Cato swung them both around to face the boy. But Glimmer needn't have worried. Reliable as ever Cato lifted a sword from his belt and stopped the boy's blade with such force that it fell to the ground. Even with Glimmer propped against him Cato was able to then sink the sword right into the boy's heart. A blood-curdling scream filled the air, and Glimmer felt her stomach drop as she realised it wasn't coming from the tribute Cato had just stabbed.

Clumsily she turned her head to see a small boy running towards her, with a sharp rock in his hand. Before she had to tell him, Cato saw and swung her out of the way, but not before the boy brought the stone down, slicing it across her cheek. Gasping for breath, she fought with her eyes, trying to stop them from rolling to the back of her head, fighting to not black out. Cato felt her head loll against his shoulder as he grabbed the boy with the stone by the neck.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, squeezing Glimmers hand so hard it felt as if he was breaking every bone in it. The pain was good however, it gave her something to focus on, an anchor to keep her awake.

"Never," she whispered under her breath, managing to position her mouth so close to Cato's ear that no one else would hear her. All of a sudden a whistle cut through the air and the boy in Cato's grasp head snapped forward, revealing a small knife embedded in the back of his neck.

"Thought I'd get him for you, he's been annoying me all through training," Clove laughed harshly, jogging over to Cato and ripping the knife out of the tributes neck. Looking around Cato felt relief pass through him as he noticed the last tribute run into the forest, leaving only himself, Marvel, Clove and Glimmer in the clearing near the lake.

They all stood in silence for a few moments, trying to regain there breath as the gentle hum of the hovercrafts gradually grew nearer; getting ready to move the bodies of the fallen tributes. Glimmer stood frozen, gripping onto Cato's waist as she tried to think of something witty to say, something the Capital audience would like.

She opened her mouth, but instead of the flirty laugh she had planned, she felt bile rise in the back of her throat. Try as she might she couldn't calm it and eventually was sick over Cato's shoulder, before passing out.

…**..**

Cato leant over Glimmer, willing her to open her eyes. It had been seven hours since she had passed out and Cato was beginning to wonder if he'd injected her with too higher dose of medicine.

"Don't die on me. Not yet anyway," Cato whispered, wrapping his hand around her skinny wrist. Suddenly he felt her stir and looked up to see her smirking at him.

"You're not getting rid of me that easy," Glimmer said, wincing as she propped herself up on her shoulders, whilst looking around. She seemed to be in some sort of tent and couldn't help but feel relieved as she realised that only Cato and her were inside.

"What time is it?" Glimmer rubbed her head and looked confused as she realised it was dark outside the tent.

"Erm well it's hard to tell, but probably about eight. Marvel and Clove were planning on us all heading out to hunt, how do you feel?" Cato couldn't help but feel concerned about how soft he was coming across, but hoped that the Capital audience would have much better things to watch, on the first night of the games. Somehow Glimmer seemed to sense this and Cato could tell she was thinking of a good way to please President Snow. She didn't disappoint.

"Well…I think I could do with a kiss better," she whimpered looking longingly at Cato, her blue eyes clouding over with a fake glaze that showed she was entering Capital mode. For a second they both stared at each other, as if silently apologising for how they were acting. Then without hesitation Glimmer grasped Cato's shoulders and pulled him towards her roughly. Searing pain shot through her as she moved, but the moment Cato's lips collided with hers, she knew she couldn't back out.

A soft moan escaped his lips as he fell backwards onto the floor, with her lying on top of him. Every bone in Glimmer's body wanted her to close her eyes, and cuddle into Cato, allowing him to protect her from the outside world. But they weren't at the training centre anymore. They were in the heart of the arena, and the Capital didn't want to see loving embraces. They wanted hunger, lust and danger. Everything that she wasn't.

Cato felt his heart pound wildly in his chest as Glimmer's lips met his. Immediately everything felt foreign and wrong. The way their hands moved over each other roughly. The way her eyes- as he knew his were- searched over him hungrily. The way that the taste of sugar he always got when they kissed, was buried under taste of mud.

Glimmer felt pain running through her- however it was no longer pain from the wounds she had received earlier. After only a few hours Cato was already being taken away from her, slipping further from her grasp. All she wanted was five more minutes alone with him, without the prying eyes of Panem, forcing them to be something they weren't.

But she knew she couldn't stop now. The sponsors would be hooked, there mentors flooded with offers, offers that could help Cato survive when she was no longer in the arena. Forcing the thoughts of how wrong this was out of her mind, Glimmer silently squeezed Cato's hand before tugging his shirt over his head.

Cato watched as Glimmer sat up slightly, chewing her lip, an action that he now knew meant she was worried and wondering what to do next. Silently he prayed that somehow Glimmer's poor family weren't watching, even though he knew they undoubtedly would be.

Looking into her eyes he hoped she understood that he had wanted this to be completely different and was sorry for everything. Then silently he forced a grin onto his face as he began to pull off her shirt.

"Hey are you guys ready?" Hearing Marvel's shout caused both Glimmer and Cato to sit up, and heave a small sigh of relief. At least for now neither of them would have to continue this 'show' for the sponsors. Marvel had saved them, at least for now. Suddenly remembering they should be annoyed by the interruptions Glimmer kissed Cato one final time before beginning to speak.

"We'll continue this later," she said smiling mysteriously as she fixed her shirt and walked out of the tent. Just as she was leaving a small parachute landed on the ground outside. Happiness washed over her. A happiness that wouldn't last. For when she opened the container she found a small tub of super-strength painkillers along with a note from her mentor, district ones famous victor; Star.

The only victor in history to convince three tributes to kill themselves, because they were so madly in love with her. So it wasn't surprising she thought Glimmer could win the same way, not knowing about President Snow's threats. Glimmer felt her heart drop as she read:

_Good work with Cato, now start with Marvel. Put on a good show._

Glimmer's eyes widened as she blinked over the last four words, the exact four words that President Snow had said to her, the final time they had spoken. Immediately she knew he would have had something to do with the note. He wanted her to act this way, to humiliate her father further. As if watching her die wasn't enough.

Closing her eyes for a moment she realised she would have to do what the note said, to keep her family safe. She had no choice. She just hoped Cato would somehow understand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: ****Okay so to try and make up for taking so long to write chapter three, I have published two chapters in two days. I hope that you have enjoyed them, but please let me know! I'd love to know how you think the storys going. Thanks!**

Swallowing four Capital painkillers- four times the dose instructed- Glimmer picked up a silver bow and sheath of arrows from the cornucopia and swung it over her shoulder. In the half an hour since she had received the parachute she had experienced more emotions than she thought humanly possible.

At first the idea of having to go behind Cato's back with Marvel made her want to be sick. It had felt like someone had ripped her heart straight out of her chest, and left a large gaping hole in its place. Now she just felt numb. She decided this was a good however as feeling was too painful right now. The only person left she could take refuge with was now being taken away by the Capital, like everyone else she loved had been.

"Hey are you coming?" Hearing Marvel's shout from the edge of the forest snapped her back to reality. Show time. Taking a deep breath she prepared to change into the fake Glimmer, the Glimmer she had been forced to be all her life as the Mayor of district ones daughter.

"Yeah, wait up! Save some people for me to kill," Glimmer shouted as she jogged over to join Marvel, Clove and Cato. They all began to silently walk into the forest, masked by the darkness that night provided. Cato was at the front and kept glancing over his shoulder, wondering why Glimmer was hanging back. She had barley looked at him since they had left the tent earlier. He began to wonder if she was embarrassed, or just didn't want to get caught in the same situation they were in earlier. Even with the amount of experience he had had with girls back in district two, he was secretly worried that he had done something wrong and unknowingly made a fool of himself. Either way he decided to stay at the front, because whilst they were hunting tributes he doubted he would be able to talk to her anyway.

A million thoughts consumed Glimmer as she tried to decide what to do. The painkillers had made her light headed and just as she was beginning to regret recklessly taking too many, she remembered what she had felt like without them, how afraid she had felt, and decided that being light headed wasn't so bad after all. They had been walking for about an hour now, and with Marvel in front of her she had no excuse not to make a move. No excuse but one. Cato.

Casting her gaze to the front of the pack she noticed that he was a good twenty meters ahead of her and kept disappearing as he moved in and out of the trees. If she moved now hopefully he wouldn't see her. Slipping her hand into her pocket she felt the scrunched up note and knew she had to act now. There was no way that President Snow would allow her to disobey his direct order to put on a good show.

Just do it, she thought, forcing her self to walk closer to Marvel. There was no backing out now. Taking a deep breath she counted down in her head; _three, two, one…_

Glimmer reached out and slipped her arm around Marvel's shoulder, placing her mouth right next to his ear but making sure that the audience would still be able to hear what she said.

"You look good with a sword, I hope you'll use it to protect me," she whispered playfully into his ear. Marvel couldn't believe his luck. Finally she had realised how stupid Cato was and come back to him, as he knew she would.

"Why thank you, you're looking pretty good yourself," he whispered back, moving his hand to rest on the bottom of her back. It was all Glimmer could do not to wince at his touch. Feeling as if she might be sick if she had to flirt with him anymore, she simply grinned and tried to resist the urge to gnaw at her lip.

Marvel didn't seem to realise how awkward she was acting however and slid his other hand around her back, stopping them both from walking. STOP! Glimmer wanted to scream at him, but forced her feelings to the pit of her stomach as she thought about her five year old brother, Flint. He would be sat at home now, not understanding what was going on. Not understanding where she had gone. Maybe father had told him that the angels had taken her, the same way they had taken mother. This time Glimmer couldn't help but wince as she remembered the fateful night that her mother had been taken from her. Remembered waking up in the middle of the night to find her mother being dragged through the house by the peacekeepers. And then worst of all seeing her the next day hanging dead in the town square…

Marvel's mouth crashing into hers brought Glimmer back to the moment. The words put on a good show ran around frantically in her head, forcing her to kiss him back. As soon as she did she found that all she could think about was Cato and that first kiss in the training centre. Had he felt the same way when he kissed her? Had the whole world disappeared and the floor dropped beneath him, until all that had remained was the two of them?

This time she came back to reality with a hard thud as Marvel pushed her into a tree, his kiss becoming more and more unbearable. Frantically she tried to think of a way to break away, if just for a second, so that she could grab a hold of herself. Suddenly she had an idea. Breaking away from his lips she jumped up onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist. The jump caused her vision to shift and reminded her of the painkillers. She could only think for a second however as Marvel began to kiss her again.

Suddenly she heard footsteps and out of nowhere she heard Clove's voice, from what sounded like a couple of trees away.

"Where are you guys?" Clove hissed through the night as Glimmer broke free from Marvel's arms and hit the floor with a thud.

"Where here. I just…I just dropped my arrows," Glimmer said quickly, trying to keep her voice even as she dropped her sheath onto the floor, before diving down to gather the arrows that had fallen out up. Finally catching on Marvel jumped down to help her, just as Cato and Clove walked around the tree to find them.

Cato stood with a confused and then concerned expression on his face as he saw how panicked Glimmer looked. His gaze then shifted to Marvel who wasn't doing a very good job and concealing his smirk. Surely nothing had happened between them?

"Guys look." The whole group looked to where Clove was pointing, to see a small red glow not too far in the distance.

As if such a situation had been planned, all four careers instantly begun to follow Clove as she walked almost silently towards the glow. As they grew nearer Glimmer began to recognise the female tribute from district four sat warming herself by a fire. She watched as Clove turned around and grinned, as she approached the clearing. Glimmer couldn't help but jump as her and Marvel burst though the trees and grabbed the girl.

"Great idea, building a fire on the first night! Gee I wish I had thought of that plan," Marvel mocked as he and Clove yanked the girl up. At this point Glimmer couldn't help but sneak a glance at Cato, who was staring back at her, a reassuring look on his face that didn't quite meet his eyes.

"I…I… please don't kill me!" The girls cry rippled through the forest, but even if it had been heard no one had come to help. To the rest of the tributes it meant soon there would be one less person to kill.

"Awww now isn't that sweet, well here's a piece of advice, if you don't want to get killed then don't get caught. But then again I suppose it's a bit late for that," Clove picked up where Marvel had left off. As Glimmer watched she tried to look amused and even laughed at the girls cries, however inside her pockets her hands where shaking. All she could do was watch as Clove pulled a knife out of her belt and the girl screamed.

"Oh so you don't want me to kill you? Well seen as I'm feeling so generous today I'll let you choose," a thin smile spread across Clove's lips as she said this. Glimmer however felt her stomach lurch at the thought that she could have to kill the girl. The look of fear must have registered across her face as the captured tributes eyes locked on hers.

"Help me," she whispered staring right at Glimmer, her piercing eyes filled with desperation.

"Ahhh so I guess we've found our winner," Clove spun around to face Glimmer.

"Do you want to borrow my knife?"

"Use my sword, it's more fun playing with bigger toys," Cato said, suddenly joining in on the conversation. When Glimmer spun around Cato saw relief brush over her face for a moment as she realised that using Cato's sword would allow her to get it over with quicker. He knew how hard this was for her, unlike him she hadn't been trained to be a killer.

Trying to keep a calm expression on her face, Glimmer walked over to Cato and reached out to grab his sword, just as his hand grabbed the handle. For a second electric surged through both of them as there hands brushed over each over. Then, somehow managing to make it look natural Cato squeezed Glimmers hand. She looked up and felt a mix of guilt and reassurance as he gave her a nod so slight, that if she had blinked, she would have missed it.

After being handed the sword Glimmer spun around faced the girl who was now crying silently, her gazed cast downwards. All of a sudden an unfamiliar feeling surged through Glimmer. Anger. This girl had no right to be crying. She had been reaped fairly and it was her fault she had been caught. In a few days time Glimmer knew that it would be her death that the capital would be watching, gripped to there seats. This stupid, idiotic girl had actually had a chance of winning and she had thrown it all away. She had been given a chance that Glimmer would never get. A chance to live. A chance to love.

Suddenly Glimmer's mind cast back to earlier when she had been forced to betray Cato. A pain took over her that she doubted any amount of Capital painkillers would cure. The arena seemed to get quieter and the girl's sobs became louder. There were thousands of things she wanted to say to the girl, to make her understand that even now she still had hope and more of a chance than Glimmer ever had. In the end however she was too wound up to say more than one word.

"Pathetic," she whispered. And then without hesitation she drew back the sword and lodged it straight into the girl's heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:**** Right so heres chapter five! I'd just like to thank all my readers for sticking with the story and giving me feedback. Also in answer to Erinlia's review I am planning on using the same ending for Cato and Glimmer as is in the original, mainly because it's what I had planned when I started writing it and I don't think theres anyway I could change it now, although I will be writing more hunger games fanfics in the future, when this ones finished. Please review so I know if you have enjoyed the story because theres probably only going to be one or two chapters after this. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!**

Glimmer awoke to the sound of a scream in the far off distance. Almost immediately the face of the tribute she had killed last night flashed through her mind, adding to the chill of the already cold day. Even the tent didn't seem to provide much protection from the harsh climate of the arena.

Sitting up she looked around to find that there was only herself and Cato still inside the tent, and began to become aware of Marvel and Clove's voices outside. Slipping out of her sleeping bag she began to crawl over to Cato, who was facing away from her. As she drew nearer she realised that he was still asleep. For a few minutes she sat watching him, allowing her mind to daydream about all the things they could do if only they could be together.

Then as if her hand had developed a mind of its own, she reached out tentatively and hovered her slim fingers over his cheek, wondering if she dared to touch him. After a few moments she shied away and dug her hand into her pocket. Once there her hand wrapped around a small object that it then pulled out.

For a few moments Glimmer twisted the thin silver ring around in her fingers, her eyes fixated on the small blue sapphire in the middle. Her mother's engagement ring. Yet another thing she would now never experience. Marriage. Suddenly she felt her eyes move over to Cato and the ring become heavy in her hand.

She opened her mouth to begin to speak, before remembering where she was. What she had to say was for Cato only, not the Capital audience, they wouldn't understand anyway. Silently Glimmer clenched her hand into a fist allowing the ring to dig painfully into her palm. It was then she placed her other hand on top of Cato's and rested it there for a moment.

Knowing it was crazy before she even started; she lent into Cato and rested her head lightly on his shoulder. _I promise that we will be together someday, that now is not the end for us, it's the beginning. I will die and you will win The Hunger Games. You will win it and go on to live for both of us. I will never leave you though, not really, I will always be right beside you, waiting until we can finally be together; but this time death won't separate us. Now is not the end for us, just-_

"Don't leave me," Glimmer whispered the last part, so quietly it was barely audible. She then silently slid the ring out of her hand and into Cato's pocket. Suddenly she felt an arm slid around her waist.

"Never," Cato murmured, his mouth nestled in the top of Glimmer's hair. Glimmer felt her cheeks begin to turn bright red. She hadn't planned for Cato to wake up, and now he had, she didn't have any idea what to do. Nervously she tried to fix her hair, knowing she probably looked terrible, since she had only just woken up.

"You look beautiful," Cato suddenly said, as if reading her mind.

"You're looking pretty hot yourself," Glimmer said, grinning as she looked up at Cato fighting the urge not to laugh at her use of 'Capital Glimmer.' Cato looked equally amused.

"And there was me thinking that it was too early for that kind of thing, even for you," Cato laughed, whilst raising his eyebrows and trying to look serious.

"Well what can I say? What's a girl supposed to do when being in such close quarters to such a good looking, sexy, handsome-" Cato cut Glimmer off by leaning in and kissing her. He was so glad they were talking again and things were back to normal- well, if you can call it that. It was a somewhat disjointed kiss, for both of them were grinning madly whilst trying to kiss at the same time. In the end they both ended up laying on the floor laughing.

"Erm are you two coming out anytime today?" Suddenly Clove twitched open the tent door, causing both Glimmer and Cato to sit upright and try to put something approaching serious expressions on there faces. Glimmer swallowed back a laugh before beginning to speak.

"Yes, erm… we were just, erm-"

"Coming, we were just coming," Cato cut in to save Glimmer, who was still trying unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh. Clove responded by rolling her eyes and sighing, before going back outside. For a moment both Cato and Glimmer sat staring at each other before bursting out laughing again. After about five minutes Glimmer got up to leave, however as she reached the door she felt Cato's hand wrap around hers and pull her back to him.

Without having to say anything they both leaned in, there lips crashing into each other clumsily. Every second alone counted now, as they were both well aware it could be there last. Glimmer's hands closed around Cato's neck as his arms wrapped around her back. For a few seconds Glimmer gave into the kiss and the cinnamon taste of his lips. Then after a few moments of weakness she forced herself to let go and walk outside, whilst grinning in the way she knew Cato would be, as she strutted out.

After discussing strategies for a while, all four career tributes decided it was best to hunt at night, using the night vision goggles as an advantage. This new plan however meant that they had seven hours of doing nothing to look forward to, before complete darkness fell at around eight.

Needless to say after two hours, the novelty had worn off and everyone was edgy and restless. Things had been too quiet. Just as they were about to assess whether it was a good idea to sit around for so long, a scream erupted from what sounded like a hundred meters away. Immediately Clove jumped up and began to run into the forest, with Cato close behind. Just before she entered it she turned around.

"You two stay here, it might be a diversion," she said tearing off into the forest before anyone could argue. Cato looked around and worriedly fixed his gaze on Glimmer as if asking her if she would be alright.

"She'll be fine, after all she's got me to look after her," Marvel butted in, glaring at Cato. Cato however wouldn't be distracted and continued to look at Glimmer.

"Cato! A little help," Clove's voice called out through the forest. As much as Glimmer didn't want to be left alone with Marvel she nodded her head, knowing that Clove needed help.

"Go," she whispered, feeling her heart sink as Cato sped off into the forest leaving her and Marvel, sat on the fallen tree 'bench,' in the middle of the clearing. For a few minutes the two of them sat in awkward silence, whilst Marvel annoyingly tapped his fingers on the wood. Glimmer chewed on her lip praying that Cato would be back soon.

After a while Glimmer noticed that Marvel was edging annoyingly close to her. She tried to edge further away from him herself but to her dismay she soon ran out of tree.

"Come on Glimmer, you don't have to be like this. I know you like me," Marvel suddenly said, lowering his voice. Glimmer felt herself bite down on her lip even more, as she tried to think of what to say.

"I don't like you. Last night I was too drugged up on painkillers to even think straight, I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea," she gabbled, hoping more than anything that he would just back off and leave her alone.

"Awww well do you know what I think? I think someone's telling fibs," Marvel persisted. Suddenly- before she could reply- Marvel leant forward and planted his lips on hers. Immediately the feel of his lips on hers made Glimmer thrash frantically, trying to break free. Marvel on the other hand simply locked his arms around her waist and continued kissing her.

Glimmer felt anger bubble up inside her as she cursed herself for getting involved with Marvel in the first place. Even though she had no choice she still felt terrible and wasn't going to let it happen again. Channelling all her anger she suddenly found the strength to push forward. Although instead of pushing Marvel off her she lost her balance on and fell backwards off the end of the trunk. She hit the solid ground with a thud as searing pain shot through her wounds from the blood bath. Marvel- who had also apparently lost his balance- fell on top her and instead of finding it painful, acted as if nothing had happened by continuing to kiss her.

"What the hell?" Cato's voice rippled through the clearing and finally caused Marvel to let go of Glimmer and look up. A smug smile crossed his face as he did.

"It's not what it looks like," Glimmer stammered truthfully, before getting up. Cato looked at her for a few moments as a look of pain crossed his face. He then did something he never did. Run away. Turning on his heel he sprinted off into the forest, leaving only the heavy sound of his footsteps in his wake. Glimmer fully aware that it probably wasn't the best idea began to move her legs, rapidly tearing after Cato through the forest.

"Glimmer!" Marvel's voice shouted after her but she didn't even bother turning back. All she could think about was the look on Cato's face and how desperate she was to find him and make things right.

After running relentlessly for two hours Glimmer finally admitted defeat and fell to her knees panting heavily. She stayed like this for what seemed like forever, until her breathing evened out and the pain in her chest reduced. It was only then she felt the hot tears begin to stream down her cheeks as she curled up into a ball and rocked herself gently.

More hours seemed to pass, and soon the fake sun was beginning to set at the edge of the arena. Glimmer had no idea how long she had been on the floor for and wondered about heading back for the camp. Back to what though? There was nothing there for her now.

Suddenly she heard a twig snap and spun around. Her stomach lurched as she saw the face of the female tribute from district nine staring back at her, a smile spread across her lips. Urgently Glimmer stood up and fumbled with her belt. To her horror she found that the knife she had put there earlier had fallen out, leaving her without a weapon.

It could be worse she thought to herself, as she noted that all the girl had herself was a branch, sharpened at one end. No sooner had she thought this did she hear his voice. His rusty, deep voice.

"Good work, I've been wanting to kill this cow ever since I saw her." Glimmer snapped her head around to come face to face with the other tribute from nine. It was then her heart began to pump wildly as she saw the sword in his left hand. Although it wasn't as good as Cato's it was still more than she had. Cato. The one thing keeping her from willingly dieing, well at least until she had made things right with him.

Knowing that she had to act quickly and that she didn't stand a chance in combat against them she turned around and began to run away. To her dismay however the hours she had spent running earlier, had made her slow and an easy target. She only managed about fifty meters until she felt someone right behind her. Realising that running wasn't going to work she quickly turned around and punched the boy in the face, causing his nose to erupt with blood and stalling him for a moment. Woah. She never knew she could do that! The moment of triumph soon passed however as Glimmer felt her hair being pulled back by the female tribute, who had only just caught up.

Glimmer let out a scream as she swung her leg around into the back of the girls knees, causing her to stumble slightly. Unfortunately she hadn't kicked hard enough, and soon the girl had regained her balance.

"I'm going to enjoy this," she said, before tackling Glimmer head on and causing her to smack backwards onto the ground. Glimmer simply let out a groan, as her body made contact with the ground and the boy who had recovered slightly straddled on top of her.

All Glimmer knew now was that she was going to die. _I'm sorry Cato, if only you knew._

"I know exactly what you mean. She's not even good at anything; it's obvious the careers just kept her around for a bit of fun. But now I guess even they don't want her, probably because she's so needy, especially around Cato" the boy snarled as he grabbed his sword and raised it above her head. Glimmer felt a familiar feeling wash over her as she accepted that she was going to die.

Looking over the boy's shoulder she focused on a tree, concentrating on the ridges on the trunk. She was fully planning on staying that way, until she heard his voice ripple through the clearing.

"She does need me. But I need her too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Okay so sorry sorry sorry that its taken me this long to update! I just really wanted this chapter to be perfect and it's extra long so hopefully that makes up for it. Anyway more from me at the end...**

Glimmer felt a tear run down the side of her cheek as Cato's eyes locked onto hers. For a moment she felt the weight of the tribute straddled on top of her disappear, along with the ground beneath her. It was as if Cato knew everything she had wanted to tell him just by looking at her.

Suddenly however the moment was broken, as the heavy sound of footsteps began. Spontaneously, Glimmer decided that now wasn't the time to die; she still had too much left to say to Cato, however she knew deep inside that no amount of time with him would be enough. Quickly moving her gaze she saw the female tribute begin to run forward, trying to escape Cato. In her haste however she had forgotten about Glimmer lying on the floor.

Feeling adrenaline pulse through her Glimmer managed to free her arm and swing it out in front of the girl, causing her to trip and fall head first into the dirt. She was just about to try and free herself from the boy- who seemed temporarily paralysed at the sight of Cato- when she heard him splutter violently and felt his body go limp. A warm liquid sprayed across her face as the boy crashed forward on top of her.

After a few seconds of being blinded by the tributes dead body, he was suddenly pulled off her. Without looking at her, Cato then proceeded to push his knife into the other tributes chest, just as she was trying to get up. He then turned to face Glimmer who was laid on the ground shaking, whilst wiping the dead boy's blood off her cheek.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed!" Cato's sudden shout shocked Glimmer, who was still trying to piece together what had happened; how close she had come to death.

"I…I was only trying to follow you, listen about Marvel…it wasn't what it looked like," she gabbled whilst trying to stop anymore of her tears from falling. Death she could deal with, but Cato being mad at her? Suddenly dieing didn't seem too bad after all.

"I don't care about Marvel; I care about you. Look Glimmer, what if I hadn't shown up?" Cato felt his voice crack slightly as a hundred different thoughts entered his head. Glimmer on the other hand looked strangely calm as she stood up and looked straight into his eyes.

"Then I would have died," she replied simply. Cato opened his mouth, for once in his life having no idea what to say. Even if he did the huge lump in his throat would probably have stopped him anyway.

All of a sudden he could hear the sound of voices, and turned around to face a small rocky hill where they were coming from. Both he and Glimmer readied their weapons as they waited for the tributes to come into view. After a few more sentences however, Cato realised that they belonged to Clove and Marvel, who must have come looking for them. A few seconds later they appeared, and began climbing down into the clearing.

"So if your not too busy giving away your position arguing at the top of your voices, do you want to maybe apologise for taking off like that," Clove said crossly as her and Marvel walked over to the two of them.

"Sorry it's my fault," Glimmer said, suddenly stepping in to take the blame before Cato could. She then tried not to wince as Clove walked towards her, until there was only an inch between them.

"Well a word of advice, maybe think next time before running off again because next time I won't be so-"

"Look!" Marvel's shout cut Clove off and caused all the careers to look into the forest, to see a female tribute limping through the trees. Even from this far away Glimmer recognised her as being the female from twelve. All of a sudden she found herself trying to catch up with the rest of the careers, who had run off at full speed as soon as they had seen the other tribute. As soon as she began to run, sharp pain began to shoot through her legs, a painful reminder of how she had run after Cato earlier. Luckily however, the girl seemed to be injured and she was able to catch up quickly. She then watched as Cato reached out to grab the girl, but just missed as the girl began to frantically scramble up a tree.

Glimmer had to blink a few times to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. No, the girl had actually climbed up the tree.

"Glimmer!" Clove's stern shout forced her to shift her gaze from the girl in the tree back to the careers, who were all looking at her expectantly. Shit, she hadn't been listening. Clove seemed to realise this but instead of shouting, simply sighed before looking at Marvel, who was holding out the bow and arrows she usually used when they went out hunting.

"I thought you might want these," he said smugly as Glimmer reached out, suddenly realising that they wanted her to shoot the girl in the tree. Just thinking about it caused Glimmer to feel her self being taken over by the Capital Glimmer, the Glimmer she had forgotten to be for a while. Realising that the Capital audience were probably becoming bored with her, and remembering how upset she was with Cato for shouting at her, she smiled at Marvel.

"Thanks babe," she said, as she clasped the bow firmly in her hand, trying to ignore Cato, who she was fairly certain had just winced.

"Just shoot her, I've had enough of all these star-crossed lovers," Clove said glaring at Glimmer, before shifting her gaze to Cato. All of a sudden Glimmer felt her hand go limp as she realised why she had recognised the girl. She was the one who was in love with the boy from her district.

"Hurry up," Marvel's harsh voice caused Glimmer to regain her composer and aim an arrow at the girl in the tree. For a moment she saw a look cross the girls face. A look she knew too well. It reminded her of the way Cato had looked at her that day in the training centre, when he thought she wasn't looking. When she had been pretending to try and make a fire or something.

Just remembering the way he had looked at her made her stomach flutter and her hand go weak, allowing the bow to fly out, and miss the girl. Crap. Not wanting to turn and see the annoyed and mocking looks she would be getting off Clove, she quickly pulled out another arrow and tried again. By now however the girl had had chance to position herself solidly on a branch, giving Glimmer a lot less to aim at. Nevertheless she still let the arrow fly, however this time she wasn't shocked when it flew straight passed the girl.

As if sensing her desperation, Cato leaped up and began climbing the tree, sparing her the embarrassment of missing again. After a few seconds however it became clear that Cato wasn't going to be able to reach the girl, however instead of getting flustered as she had, Cato simply jumped down and allowed a small smile to cross his face.

"Well it's not like she's going anywhere, I say we set up camp here and wait until morning, we can last longer than she can," he said. The rest of the careers nodded at him, apart from Glimmer, who was still having trouble looking him in the eye.

"I think there might still be a dead squirrel in my backpack, from when I was hunting last night, I'll skin it and we can have it before it gets any darker," Clove said, looking up at the evening sky that gradually seemed to be turning black.

"I'll go and collect firewood," Glimmer suddenly said, wanting nothing more than some time to her self, to think about everything that had happened. Just as she began to walk into the trees, she heard Cato's voice.

"I'll come with you," he said firmly as he jogged to catch Glimmer, who was speeding off into the forest. For a couple of minutes they both remained silent, as they picked up stray pieces of wood and branches that had fallen off the trees.

As soon as Glimmer was sure they were out of Marvel and Clove's hearing she shoved Cato roughly.

"Why did you do that?" She demanded, almost dropping her armful of wood.

"Do what?" Cato asked, looking confused.

"Say you'd come with me, I don't need protecting."

"Oh yeah, well it really seemed like it earlier."

"I didn't ask you to save me."

"If you hadn't been so reckless I wouldn't have had too!"

"Yeah well it's not like-" All of a sudden Cato cut Glimmer off by leaning in and kissing her squarely on the lips, dropping his handful of twigs. After a brief moment of surprise, Glimmer threw down the firewood she had been collecting and moved her hands to cradle the back of Cato's head. She then felt his hands move to the top of her thighs, leading her into jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist.

They stayed like that for several minutes, until finally Glimmer broke away.

She then jumped down so quickly that she almost fell over, only being saved at the last minute by Cato's strong hand steadying her. He looked at her worriedly as she winced slightly.

"What's up?" He whispered, his eyes searching her face for answers.

"I…I can't keep doing this. Leading you on, I mean. Sooner or later I'm…I mean one of us is going to die and I don't want to hurt you," Glimmer stuttered all at once as tears began streaming down her cheeks. The same tears that threatened to spill from Cato's eyes as he took in what she had just said.

"But, it doesn't have to be like this! I want to be with you, no matter how long we have left," Cato said, wiping his eyes roughly with the back of his hand, as he watched Glimmer shake her head.

"I know you don't see it but I'm holding you back. Like today for instance, you could have been killed when you went off after you saw me with Marvel, and when you saved me from those tributes. You can't keep putting yourself at risk because of me," Glimmer said, gulping back another round of tears. Cato grabbed her arms and looked at her desperately.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, but instead of the answer he was looking for, Glimmer closed her eyes for a moment, before leaning in and kissing him softly. She then drew back, but only a little, so their noses were still touching. Cato then placed his hands on the back of Glimmers head, as if trying to hold her too him as a small tear drop escaped his eye. She was so close he could feel her breath on his face.

"I love you," she whispered so quietly that if Cato had been another centimetre away he wouldn't have heard.

He then watched as she gently broke away and started walking back towards the camp, reminding him of that day in the training centre, when she had kissed him and walked out so confidently. Today however Glimmer couldn't hold her self together and found her self practically sprinting away from him after just a few strides, knowing that if she looked back she would crash into his arms and never let go.

…**..**

The rest of the evening went by slowly, and without much conversation. Due to the lack of firewood and the red circles surrounding her eyes, Marvel and Clove soon figured out that something had happened between Glimmer and Cato and wisely decided not to ask them about it.

This is why, at around ten, all four careers found themselves sat around the fire eating squirrel and not talking. Cato kept trying to sneak glances at Glimmer however each time he looked at her, he found her to be studying the floor and avoiding looking at anyone. It was going to be a long night.

Luckily as soon as they had finished eating, Clove suggested that they got some sleep. They didn't bother with a guard because surly they would hear if the girl attempted to escape. It didn't matter anyway, Glimmer was wide awake. She sat for about two hours in the same position, clutching her knees to her chest, leaning on a log whilst watching the warm glow of the fire gradually fade out.

She was trying desperately to distract herself from looking at Cato, although you can only stare at a fire for so long. Deciding to distract herself by biting her lip, Glimmer tried to focus on stopping shivering. Why hadn't she taken a sleeping bag with her when she ran off?

"You look cold." Hearing his voice made her jump, causing her to bite down and puncture her lip. Looking up she saw Cato crouched down beside her holding out his jacket for her to take. Even though she knew it was selfish and he was probably freezing too, she reached out and took it, whilst trying to avoid looking him in the eye.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked. Cato shook his head.

"No, I keep picturing another tribute finding us here asleep… I'm beginning to wonder if not having a guard is a good idea," he said as he sat down next to Glimmer.

"You're worried you'll die?" Glimmer asked, trying to stop herself from curling her arms around Cato.

"Worried that I won't be awake to protect you," Cato whispered, before blushing in the mercifully dark light. It was his turn to look at the floor. Instead of blushing too, Glimmer surprised her self by breaking her previous vow to stay away from Cato. Maybe just one more night together wouldn't hurt…

"I don't want to leave you," Glimmer said finally moving her gaze to look at Cato, who was staring back at her. It was then that Glimmer felt herself begin to shake violently. Cato felt her and moved in to wrap his arm around her. Glimmer knew she wasn't helping Cato get over her, but couldn't help but give in as she nestled her head against his chest.

"Go to sleep," Cato whispered wrapping his hands more firmly around her as her shivering began to subside. He then forced himself not to drift off in case Glimmer needed him. After a while however he felt his eyelids begin to flutter shut and knew it was only a matter of time before he unavoidably fell asleep. At least nothing could happen to her now she was with him.

"I love you, and no matter what happens I know I'll never find anyone as perfect as you" he murmured into her hair, thankful that she was unconscious and wouldn't hear him. What he didn't know however was that she was awake. She had never gone to sleep as she was too busy savouring every moment she got to spend with him, listening to his heart beat wildly in his chest. That was why after he had spoken she felt a grin spread across her face and knew that this was the happiest and at the same time saddest she had ever felt. She was so happy that she couldn't help but embarrass Cato a little.

"You've always been perfect to me," she whispered, opening one eye just in time to see the mortified expression cross Cato's face as he realised she was awake and had just heard everything he had said. Glimmer smiled as she leaned up and kissed Cato on the forehead, who still seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"I think it's time we both went to sleep," she said as she sank back into Cato's arms, saving him from having to say anything, given his embarrassed state.

She then allowed herself, to drift off into dreamless sleep protected by Cato's strong arms, arms that she never wanted to leave.

Cato also felt the feeling of tiredness wash over him, as his cheeks gradually began to turn back to their normal colour. He then joined Glimmer in going to sleep, trying to stay still so he wouldn't disturb her- even though the log was sticking painfully into his side. He soon decided however that this was a small price to pay, if it meant he got to spend the night with Glimmer in his arms.

All too soon the artificial sun began to rise over the edge of the arena, causing Glimmer to involuntarily be pulled out of the world of sleep and back to cold hard reality. A reality that after remembering whose arm she was resting on, somehow didn't seem so bleak. Feeling Cato stir slightly she turned to face him, unable to stop a smile from creeping across her lips.

"Morning sexy," Glimmer purred, fighting the urge to laugh as she lowered her eyelids and saw the confused look that crossed Cato's face, before he realised she was playing to the audience.

"Morning," he grinned, before continuing. "So I still need to get you back for pretending to be asleep last night," he teased leaning in slightly towards Glimmer. Following his lead Glimmer shuffled up until she was inches away from his mouth. Leaning in she couldn't help but love the almost taste of cinnamon, before her lips reached his, she was just about to close the gap between them when- CRASH!

The sound of the end of the world filled the small clearing, as hundreds of black dots began to swarm around them.

Glimmer felt something nip at her neck, no, nipping was the wrong word- the small dots seemed to be _ripping_ away her skin. She heard the frantic sound of Marvel and Clove as they scrambled up and tore off into the woods without looking back. She was just about to join them when it hit her. It was time. She had planned to wait a couple more days before thinking about dieing however now she quickly decided that this was the best way out.

It meant that her family wouldn't have to watch her suffer through a long drawn out death. Cato wouldn't have to risk his-

"Cato!" Glimmer suddenly heard herself scream, but not because she wanted him to save her, she wanted him to leave. What was he still doing here? She felt him grasp her arm however pulled it away with all the strength she could gather. Her head suddenly began to spin as the venom spread through her body- she knew she didn't have long left.

Her last view was Cato's face contorting with pain as she mouthed 'leave' to him. She then laid back and allowed the pain to course through her without resisting, as more and more of the flies began to tear away at her skin. With each bite she felt more and more of her life drain away, until she could only form thought. The word she should have used to answer Cato the other day, instead of trying to spare him the pain of watching her die. She now understood that ever since that day when she had first kissed him, he would never leave her. She would never leave him. _Never._

…**..**

Cato felt his feet stumble clumsily through the forest as he tried to follow Marvel and Clove. _Don't think. Just don't think. _He repeated the same line over and over again as he ran blindly through the forest. He then willed his mind to go blank as his body numbed over with pain.

Finally they reached the lake and he dived in, along with Clove and Marvel. Unlike them however, he didn't resurface after a few seconds. He opened his mouth to scream and allowed the tears to fall, only to be washed away by the water. He felt like someone was stabbing him in the heart repeatedly, as he re-lived Glimmer's death a thousand times.

The look of pain in her eyes as she screamed out to him. The way she had torn herself away from him. And finally the fateful moment when she had told him to leave and he had.

Only when every ounce of his body screamed for air did he finally re-surface. He then began to scrub at his lips frantically, as the minutes ticked by. How was the Earth still revolving? Surly he had fallen off when she left it. He stayed in the water until long after dark, scrubbing at his lips until they were raw with pain; but even then he couldn't wash it away. Couldn't wash away the taste of Glimmer's lips and a kiss that he would now never have.

**Right so even though I knew how it was going to end it was still sad to write. Since I have enjoyed writing this so much and don't want it to end just yet, I have decided to write one more chapter to kind of round things off. I will try and write it as soon as possible. For now though I will leave you with this- Thank you so much for reading so far and please let me know how you found this chapter- I tried to give Glimmer and Cato as nicer end together as I could, but I'd love to know how you think it went!**


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